FIFA 21 PS5: Players going back to PS4 & Xbox One due to matchmaking

If you're one of the lucky few to have got your hands on a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, you should be having a whale of a time.

All the single-player games and modes will let you utilise your console's performance, but things may be slightly different when playing others online.

Matchmaker, matchmaker

When it comes to FIFA 21, the difficulty here is that just not enough players are playing on Next Gen.

LEVEL UP - The Next Gen versions may receive greater visuals, but poorer matchmaking
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LEVEL UP - The Next Gen versions may receive greater visuals, but poorer matchmaking

When playing Division Rivals on Ultimate Team, you should be matched up against someone with a similar skill rating, but players on Reddit are picking up on skill rating differences of around 300 points.

With no cross-platform or cross-gen play, PS5 players can only play against other players on PS5, which at the moment is a limited number, let alone taking into account time zones.

Back to go forward

Although gameplay has some new features on Next Gen, including haptic feedback on PS5, the result of matchmaking queues and uneven match-ups has been players return to their previous gen consoles - providing they haven't sold them!

FEEL IT ALL - New stadium atmospheres arrive on Next Gen
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FEEL IT ALL - New stadium atmospheres arrive on Next Gen

This is despite EA stating in the Next Gen pitch notes that matchmaking times would be longer and would have "some flexibility to increase the maximum rangers used for skill level".

With news that more PS5 stock won't be arriving until 2021, we can imagine that it may not be until March before FIFA players will see a significant change on this front.

Cross-platform the solution?

EA games such as Star Wars Squadrons and Apex Legends support cross-platform play, but this feature is yet to arrive on the EA Sports titles.

PLATFORMS ASSEMBLE - Fellow EA title Star Wars Squadrons supports cross-play
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PLATFORMS ASSEMBLE - Fellow EA title Star Wars Squadrons supports cross-play

These matchmaking issues would certainly be resolved by cross-play, but for the foreseeable future, we can't see EA making such a move.

READ MORE: Everything we know about the FIFA 21 Freeze promo replacing FUTMAS

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